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Apollo Tyres is gearing up to extend its range of locally manufactured tyres in the luxury vehicle space with the Vredestein brand in the coming days. “We are bringing in our Dutch brand, Vredestein, and it's going to be launched in India very soon,” confirmed Satish Sharma, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Apollo Tyres, in an interview with Autocar India. He mentioned that the company will leverage the global brand to cater to “the whole market segment of 17-24-inch tyres.”
- Apollo to manufacture Vredestein tyres for premium vehicles in India
- Ban on tyre imports encouraged the move
- Vredestein will take on the likes of Pirelli and Michelin
Vredestein is one of the oldest tyre manufacturers in the world and was bought over by Apollo in 2009. The company introduced the European brand to the Indian market in 2013 by importing a range of tyres for premium and luxury passenger cars. However, the tyre major is looking for a bigger push in the segment this time around, by manufacturing Vredestein products locally.
Import restriction spurring local production of high-end tyres
Explaining the rationale behind the company’s move, Sharma said, “What happened in India was that since 98 or 99 percent of our vehicle park consists of small cars, automakers earlier didn't see sense in developing the supply chain in India to service that 1-1.5 percent of (luxury vehicle) business. They had global supply chains and they just used those to get the limited volumes required in India.”
However, the playing field changed when in June 2020, the Indian government curbed imports by shifting tyres from an open general licence (OGL) to the restricted category. “We are in this whole journey of self-reliance, or Atmanirbharta,” mentioned Sharma.
However, the strategy initially put a lot of stress on the supply of premium tyres, with motorists of high-end cars getting stranded. “Thanks to the regulation, what happened was that you could feel a temporary disruption of supply chain. But this vacuum is going to be filled by everyone producing domestically because they have the technology and the wherewithal. It's no longer a niche, it's a growing business,” said the senior executive.
Commenting on what can be expected from Vredestein in India, he said, “We can go all the way up to 24 inches, with low aspect ratio radials. We even have the technology for run flat tyres.” The Dutch brand will take on the likes of Michelin and Pirelli and cater to premium cars from automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in India.
“We're going to be launching our tyres in the next few days,” added Sharma.
Regulations bringing Indian tyres at par with global standards
“The Indian tyre industry is a very matured industry where we make world equivalent, benchmarked products,” Sharma said. However, with the country trailing behind the world in terms of regulations, like emission norms, until now, tyre makers had to face the challenge of greater differences between tyres meant for the Indian and the international markets.
“The technology is there and the R&D investments have been going up. The good thing that regulations, like BS6, do is that they further align us with the global vehicle park,” commented Sharma. This, then, is expected to open up more export opportunities for domestic players like Apollo.
Apollo's plans for export
“We could become a good exporting hub out of India, especially with the geopolitics of China. So, we see our exports growing multi-fold,” said the Apollo president.
Moving forward, the company will increase its focus on low rolling resistance tyres, as well as products for the SUV segment, under its Amazer and Apterra sub-brands, respectively. “Not just India, but the larger part of the world is moving towards SUVs and that trend is universal. So, in Apterra, we have found a portfolio which makes a lot of sense not just for India, but also for South Africa, Australia and the big SUV markets, like the Middle East and ASEAN region,” Sharma said. He continued, “We are also looking at Europe and USA in a big way.”
With the limited size of the luxury vehicle park in our market, the company could also look into exporting India-made Vredestein tyres to other countries.
Vredestein to help Apollo build brand perception
“In the minds of consumers, beyond a certain point, the centre of gravity would shift to multinational brands, rather than Indian brands. So, there was a mind block,” mentioned Sharma.
Brand aspiration is something that Apollo has been trying hard to build over the years, but still there is some work to be done, especially in the premium categories. “The aspirational brand journey needs to be travelled by some of the Indian brands, especially Apollo, given what we have done in the past few years,” he said. He added, “I wouldn’t be boastful enough to say that Apollo has captured the hearts (of Indians) for being an aspirational brand, but we are well set on that course.”
Sharma further commented that the Indian consumer generally looks for a European brand on a luxury vehicle, something that the company will be able to cater to with an international name like Vredestein. This, then, seems to be a well thought out strategy and Apollo expects to benefit from the move as well.
Though Vredestein products will initially be aimed at the aftermarket, the company is also working on supplying to the luxury automakers. “The interest of OEMs is now aligning with the local supply chains even for this segment. We are beginning to see that interest and are hoping to exploit that opportunity,” he said.


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Hot on the heels of announcing their extended partnership with Canterbury last month, Irish Rugby has revealed the brand new home and away jerseys that Andy Farrell's men will be wearing for the 2020/21 season. The shirt was teased during that announcement, but they were hiding the headline statement of this shirt – a hugely … Continue reading NEWS: Ireland’s new jerseys are FAR from traditional…
Irish Rugby has announced a four-year extension to their kit sponsorship deal with Canterbury of New Zealand, meaning that the brand will continue to provide apparel for all Ireland representative teams until at least 2024. As part of the announcement, the IRFU revealed that the new Ireland home shirt will be revealed next month, and … Continue reading NEWS: Ireland sign Canterbury extension, tease 2021 home kit
As news of England's long-anticipated kit deal with Umbro was finally confirmed this morning, leaked images started circulating on social media of what appears to be the first Umbro-branded England gear being worn by two of the team's biggest young stars. The image in question (shown in full below) shows England flankers Sam Underhill and … Continue reading REVEALED: Is this the first look at England’s new Umbro kit?
The RFU has finally confirmed their long-anticipated switch of kit suppliers from Canterbury to Umbro, which will see the England team sporting the iconic British soccer brand's threads from 1 September 2020. The deal brings an end the RFU's long association with Canterbury, which has supplied the England team since 2012. Rumours of England's switch … Continue reading NEWS: England Rugby confirm Umbro kit deal
England might be off to successful start in their Rugby World Cup campaign in Japan, but the next time Eddie Jones' men head to the Southern Hemisphere, they'll be wearing kit made by an extremely unexpected brand. According to a report in the Mail on Sunday, England will end their eight-year association with Canterbury after … Continue reading NEWS: England Rugby will have a surprising new kit supplier next season
The Scottish Rugby Union has announced a long-term extension to their kit deal with Italian brand Macron sports, which will see the company provide kit for all Scotland representitive teams, as well as Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby, through to 2026. The six-year extension, which is reported to be a seven-figure deal, will kick in … Continue reading NEWS: Scottish Rugby sign six-year Macron extension

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The mattress-in-a-box brand Leesa hit the market in 2015 with a promise to cut out the middleman. Now, some of its founders have had a change of heart.
Last month, members of Leesa’s founding team launched The Fascination, a marketplace that specialises in direct-to-consumer brands such as Allbirds and Lunya. Their pitch: There are so many start-ups selling plus-size denim, CBD oil, moisturiser — and yes, mattresses — that shoppers once again need the much-maligned middleman’s help cutting through the clutter.
“Back in 2015, we were in the nascent stages of direct-to-consumer,” said Matt Hayes, co-founder of Leesa and The Fascination. “It’s a new era now. We’ve crossed the chasm and there are just so many brands out there that curation is needed.”
We’ve crossed the chasm and there are just so many brands out there that curation is needed.
Hayes isn’t the only one who thinks so. A host of online multibrand retailers have sprung up to assist consumers in finding the gems amid the mountain of minimalist sneakers and men’s grooming start-ups. The Verticale, launched late last year, focuses on fashion, home goods and wellness products sold by digital brands (users must click a button labeled “shop the edit” to browse). FastAF is a mobile app created by the warehouse start-up Darkstore promising two-hour delivery in New York and Los Angeles of “the top products from the top brands,” a mix of DTC upstarts and established labels such as Aesop and Acne Studios.
It’s unclear so far whether consumers actually want the help. To be sure, shoppers are inundated with ads for unfamiliar brands, many of which share the same minimalist fonts, muted colour palettes and promises to sell the best sports bras or cookware at the lowest prices. Brands might prefer to let a marketplace find customers for them instead of buying endless waves of Instagram ads themselves.
“[Consumers] want the middleman to help them wade through the 500 Instagram ads they’ve gotten for designer deodorant,” said Anthony Sperduti, founder of creative studio Mythology.
But the online curation business is a crowded one. Department stores, which invented the concept well over a century ago, are investing in e-commerce. Several well-funded digital players, including Farfetch, Net-a-Porter and the newly public Mytheresa, are duking it out in the luxury space. The process of finding customers and gaining their loyalty is expensive. And gathering similar-looking DTC brands in one place doesn’t automatically make for a compelling shopping experience.
“We haven’t really seen true differentiation among these players,” said Chelsea Zhang, an investor at venture capital firm Equal Ventures. “How any one of them will win remains to be [seen].”
Is Curation Enough?
Digital brands have spent the last decade training consumers to shop directly on their websites. Marketplaces, as defined by Amazon and its imitators, have a reputation for an almost overwhelming degree of choice.
Curated retailers, whether they’re Mytheresa or The Verticale, tend to emphasise their limited selection, so that their agreeing to sell a product amounts to an endorsement. But where Mytheresa has been around for over a decade, new online stores can have a tough time convincing consumers to trust them.
Many retailers post product reviews and other editorial content. But they can’t claim to be unbiased, like The New York Times’ Wirecutter rating site, or New York magazine’s The Strategist vertical.
“[Tackling] this overwhelmed landscape of things by selling more things isn’t a solution to me,” said Jenny Gyllander, who reviews new brands on her Instagram account, @Thingtesting. “You have to choose. Are you sitting on the side of the brands, or are you sitting on the side of consumers?”
Convincing DTC brands to jettison the “direct” part of their business model can be a tough sell as well. Ettitude, a bedding-and-pyjamas brand carried by The Verticale, has had multiple retail partnerships ranging from Amazon, Verishop and Macy’s. Soon, it will be available at Urban Outfitters.
You have to choose. Are you sitting on the side of the brands, or are you sitting on the side of consumers?
“It’s a good thing that marketplaces are popping up because it gives us more opportunity to touch consumers that we otherwise wouldn’t touch,” said Ettitude founder and chief executive Phoebe Yu.
Still, she sees third-party retail remaining a tiny part of her business.
“The whole point of DTC is that we want consumers to visit us directly,” she said.
Some multi-brand retailers target a niche to stand out. Thirteen Lune is a beauty marketplace that promotes clean beauty brands owned by diverse founders. Launched in December, it raised $1 million from Sean “Diddy” Combs, Gwyneth Paltrow and others, and is seeking seed capital from venture investors.
Thirteen Lune is curating brands that have been historically underrepresented in mainstream retail — a claim that more general marketplaces can’t replicate.
“For our brands and for me as a Black person and beauty founder, we’ve been our entire lives purchasing products created by people who are not Black or brown,” said Nyakio Grieco, who co-founded Thirteen Lune alongside 11 Honoré founder Patrick Herning. “We are flipping that narrative.”
Online retailers are competing not just for consumers, but for brands as well. Both have their pick of marketplaces and wholesale retailers, both online and off, so a newcomer has to offer some unique value.
Uoma, a beauty brand, was already carried by Ulta in the US, and Harrods and Selfridges in the UK, plus Asos and Cult Beauty online, when FastAF made its pitch. The brand signed on because the site could potentially get it in front of customers in Manhattan, a market Uoma hadn’t managed to penetrate, said Delali Kpodzo, vice president of marketing. The promise of speedy same-day delivery was another plus, she said.
The Verticale co-founder Jaclyn Grauman said the site’s design and emphasis on founders’ stories made it attractive to brands and consumers alike. Every product page on The Verticale includes a bio about the brand and how it aligns with the values that the marketplace seeks, which include responsible materials and ethical sourcing. This discovery process is a more appealing way to present a brand than the endless white grid that typical online retailers use, Grauman said.
“Having talked to hundreds of founders in the DTC space, the most consistent problem to them was the loss of brand equity and control over their story,” Grauman said. “It’s why these brands are strongest in their sites, on their own channels.
Ultimately, gaining trust and loyalty from consumers requires patience and time, and it’s still early days, said Mythology’s Sperduti.
“I don’t think anyone’s cracked it quite yet,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see [which] marketplace becomes that arbiter of brands 2.0… Maybe next year we’ll know.”


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Fast food show's recipe for success.
The Fry Fast Food Show 2012 is moving into the Ricoh Arena's Jaguar Hall One when it arrives on Sunday September 16.
The show, which is now in its 15th year, will have more than 80 stands showcasing the latest food, equipment and services to outlets ranging from fish and chip shops to mobile caterers.
Organisers say they have already registered more then 1,000 visitors for this year.
Serena Bracken, from organisers Pybus Events, said: "The Ricoh is great for growing events because of its flexibility.
"We started off quite small in our first year but we are getting bigger and bigger and the Ricoh has the facilities to be able to accommodate our growing needs," she said.
"We have arranged to take more space in the Jaguar Exhibition Hall because we have already sold 50 stands and it means we can grow."


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Hungry for food delivery in Seattle? Amazon Prime members can browse restaurant menus and order online or on the Amazon mobile app.
Gather Seattle Food Food Westlake Seattle The shooting happened near to the Macy’s at Westlake Center and has drawn a large police response. Daily Newsletter The latest Seattle news delivered to your inbox every morning. Breaking News Alerts … Book a Food Truck. Bring Seattle’s best food trucks to your next event! Book a Food Truck Now! A
Order online in Seattle, WA and get food you love for pickup or delivery. Your favorite restaurants in Seattle, WA are here and ready to take your order.
Excellent Indian food in Seattle! We saw all of the great reviews on Yelp and decided to give it a try when we landed. Indian cuisine. Dinner the night we were going downtown for a theater production was no exception and we luckily found Daawat in walking distance.
Xi’an Food Seattle Seattle Famous Food Places It’s no longer allowed in Seattle bars and restaurants. Neither are plastic utensils in the latest push to reduce waste and prevent marine plastic pollution. businesses that sell food or drinks won’t … SEATTLE, WA – At least three people were sickened with gastroenteritis … County health investigators visited the restaurant
Brazilian Food Seattle And the day-to-dayness of wartime and its aftermath is this book’s well-worn wallpaper: the tasteless food, the small luxurie… Xi’an Food Seattle Seattle Famous Food Places It’s no longer allowed in Seattle bars and restaurants. Neither are plastic utensils in the latest push to reduce waste and prevent marine plastic pollution. Businesses that sell food
Hawaiian Food Truck Seattle Hip trucks such as Kogi barbecue in Los Angeles, New york’s big gay ice cream truck and Washington’s sweetflow mobile and fojol Bros. of Merlindia have captured local fans — and dollars. But the rena… Gather Seattle Food Food Westlake Seattle The shooting happened near to the Macy’s at Westlake Center and has drawn a
The original Amazon Go in downtown Seattle required more than $1 million in hardware alone, according to a person familiar wi…
Austin is the capital of Texas and a big-time college town. It’s famous for its music scene, but its food is just as buzzworthy. Austin’s dining options are plenty: fresh tacos, juicy burgers, organic pizzas, local food trucks, barbecue, and fine dining.
Fine indian cuisine in downtown seattle.
The second Amazon Go store, in downtown Seattle, is focused on grab-and-go food and drinks.CreditEirik Johnson for … Prime …


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No sooner had Intel announced its newest Atom chip for tablets than the company rolled out its next-gen "Cedar Trail" Atom processor due in Netbooks this holiday season. The chipmaker brandished new Netbooks based on the next-generation Atom processor and touted its tablet strategy at a developer conference in China today.
Cedar Trail Netbooks will be "quieter, thinner, lighter than current Netbooks," according to Doug Davis, general manager of the Netbook and tablet group at Intel. Davis was speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, where he showed off a future Cedar Trail Netbook and an Intel Classmate PC that will use the future Atom chip. The event was streamed over the Web.
Davis also mentioned that Intel has shipped 90 million processors into the Netbook segment to date, which means Apple still has to ship tens of million more iPads to even begin to catch up to Netbook numbers. … Read more


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Study: Smart home appliances market expected to surpass $38 billion by 2020
We’ve read and heard a lot of reports and studies about how the smart home market is expected to take off, like, now. In fact, countless tech sector analysts have dubbed 2016 the year of the smart home. The smart home market itself, though, can be broken down into a number of subcategories—essentially defined by the room that the smart home technology exists in (kitchen, home theater, etc.).
A new report released this week by Research and Markets keyed in on smart appliances, and the outlook is fairly promising. The firm reported that, by 2020, the next-generation home appliances market will surpass $38 billion in revenue.
The report attributed that number to the global energy demand—which, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, will increase by around 37 percent by 2035—and the ability of smart home appliances to facilitate real-time communication that enables the user to operate the appliance at an energy-efficient level. Beyond that, there’s the fact that companies are finding ways to make these appliances, simply put, cool as hell. (Try and tell me that having your fridge alert you when your milk is running low or about to expire, and perhaps even auto-order it from the local grocery store to be delivered just in time, isn’t friggin’ sweet. And that’s just one example from one particular appliance.)
Research and Markets said that the smart home appliance market is expected to “witness a significant growth during the analysis period [2015-2020], owing to the technological advancement in electronics and communication sectors and the growing need of energy efficiency.” Additionally, the group said, increasing purchase power and improving lifestyle would also factor into the increased demand for smart home appliances around the globe.
Geographically speaking, North America is currently dominating the smart appliance market, according to Research and Markets’ data. They credit the favorable market conditions and “adequate awareness among consumers” around smart home tech. By 2017, Asia-Pacific is expected to emerge as a market leader as well.


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A number of significant patent expirations and challenges are shaping the generics market. Last year, more than a dozen top-selling drugs became available as generics for the first time, and several of them rapidly climbed the list of the year's top-selling generics. This trend is sure to drive the current 57% generic utilization rate in chains higher.
The introduction of azithromycin, fexofenadine, and transdermal fentanyl helped generate strong sales of generics overall, according to IMS Health. Several big-selling generics launched the previous year also continued to grow strongly, including gabapentin, oxycodone HCl ER, and bupropion HCl ER, reported IMS. In general, according to Doug Long, vice president of industry relations at IMS, the best-selling branded drugs continue to turn into the best-selling generics.
These rapid shifts from branded to generic versions of specific drugs are due largely to the efforts of insurers, which are increasing their focus on quickly persuading members to move away from branded drugs as patents expire.
"Patent expiration is the real opportunity," said Eric Elliott, head of the medical-related products business unit at Aetna. Typically, he continued, 90% to 95% of the potential shift to a generic among subscribers has been achieved within the first 90 to 120 days. Overall, generic utilization has risen to about 55% among members, Elliott reported.
Insurers often are employing a combination of initiatives to increase generics use, with multiple programs aimed at pharmacists, members, physicians, and others. Some of these programs aim at promoting specific generics. Aetna recently launched a 6-month copay waiver pilot program in New Jersey for members who switch to generic omeprazole from branded proton pump inhibitors.
In some cases, the insurer looks to move generic utilization for a specific drug by at least 5%, Elliott said. Where the company wants to increase the use of a particular generic, pharmacist reimbursement for the generic may be set 25% higher than for the brand drug, he added.
Insurers also are using broader incentives to increase use, such as increasing brand copayments while keeping generic copayments steady, Elliott pointed out.
The use of generics increased markedly in several categories last year, among them diabetes care. Prescriptions for generic diabetes medicationsincluding metformin and multiple-drug therapiesgrew due to several factors, such as patients switching from brand drugs, falling prices, and the increasing incidence of the disease.
Increasing competition also has driven down prices in other categories, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. As a result, although total prescriptions for lisinopril swelled by more than 11%, retail sales in dollars actually shrank slightly, according to retail prescription data from Verispan.
One major focus for insurers, and for the generics industry in general, has been the Zocor (simvastatin) patent expiration this year. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Ranbaxy Laboratories won 180-day exclusivity for their generic versions. Protection for the statin Pravachol had already expired, and the FDA had approved the first generic pravastatin, also from Teva, earlier this year. Merck, however, decided to lower the price of its off-patent Zocor and signed an agreement with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories to sell "authorized" generic simvastatin, with the drug maker sharing the profits.
As long as blockbuster expirations continue, analysts expect the lineup of top-selling generics to keep changing.
Mr. Faden is a freelance medical writer based in Portland, Ore.
Get to know RESPIMAT, the slow-moving mist inhaler from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Watch the RESPIMAT video and test your knowledge with a short multiple-choice quiz. When you get all the answers right, you’ll receive a certificate naming you a RESPIMAT T.O.P. Performer. Why not check it out today?
Clinical features with downloadable PDFs


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It's never easy changing your reputation after a first impression has solidified, and it's even more difficult if that first impression happened almost a century ago.
Read This Article
Stuck in a dead-end job you get chest pains thinking just about when you wake up in the morning?
Every auto maker has a dud model or two that made its way into the market when it never should have seen the light of day.
Jaguar coyly teased us tantalized journalists at New York last week with fleeting glimpses of the forthcoming Jaguar F-Type, all with the crystal clear message: it's definitely happening.


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Since then, the Impossible patty has launched in a slew of eateries in Singapore, including Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, Bread Street Kitchen.
‘It is core to our mission’
“Asia is by far the number one focus for us. It is core to our mission; core to our business,” Nick Halla, the brand’s Senior Vice President, said on CNBC’s ‘Street Signs‘.
“Very few people realize that 44 percent of the world’s meat is consumed in Asia and [that ‘s] growing really quickly; food safety [and] food security are big challenges over here.”
Halla, who described Hong Kong as ‘one of the heaviest meat-eating markets in the world’, added: “The first thing we have to do, coming into a new market, is build that credibility that this is not the plant-based product of the past.
“So here in Hong Kong, we started with two of the most meat-heavy, global-renowned chefs, May Chow, and Uwe Opocensky, to help us tell that story. Them putting it on their menu is a great sign of credibility to us, to really hit the mass market too.”
Impossible Foods itself considers its meatless patty to be plant-based rather than vegan.
This is because in 2017 a key ingredient – soy leghemoglobin (heme) – from the brand’s flagship item the Impossible Burger was fed to rats in order to test its safety. In excess of 180 rats were killed as a result of the testing.
CEO Pat Brown reacted to the controversy, publishing a statement titled The Agonizing Dilemma of Animal Testing.


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The U.S. online advertising industry has not lived up to a promise to stop the online tracking of Internet users who ask advertisers to do so, a senior U.S. senator said Wednesday.
Several Republicans in the U.S. Congress who voted this year to overturn net neutrality rules -- with most opponents arguing the rules would create the first-ever regulation of the Internet -- have now signed on to sponsor one of two bills that would...
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BofA Is Buying Fitbit Because Of These Three Reasons
- Fitbit Inc (NYSE: FIT) shares have declined 35.5 percent over the past three months, touching a low of $27.86 on November 13.
- Nat Schindler of Bank of America Merrill Lynch has upgraded the rating on the company to Buy, while lowering the price objective of $36.
- The upgrade is based on the conservative Q4 guidance, international sales and corporate wellness program ramp and “underwhelming” competitive products for the upcoming holiday season.
Analyst Nat Schindler mentioned that the Q4 guidance appears conservation, based on implied growth deceleration in unit sales. In 4Q14, the only launch in December was Charge, while for the 2015 holiday season, Fitbit will have Charge, Charge HR and Surge to help drive the company’s sales.
Related Link: Bob Peck: Fitbit's Problem Is Macro, Not Fundamentals
International sales for 4Q15 are also expected to be driven by the expansion of international advertising to more countries.
“Like all consumer device companies, competitive risk remains but given the corporate buying and the limited competitive offerings near-term, we see this risk shifted into ’17,” Schindler stated.
In addition, large corporations have continued to sign up onto Fitbit’s health and wellness platform, which suggests that the company’s “platform play is beginning to build with new dashboard features.”
Schindler expects this to drive revenue beats in FY16, driven by increased device sales, “while the additional dashboard data should help Fitbit build a stronger consumer social vehicle for maintaining Fitbit user engagement long term.”
On the other hand, while various other companies have launched new fitness trackers or updated their existing ones, ahead of the holiday season, Schindler believes that several of these products have “minor improvements to last year’s models with no “must have” features to draw consumers away from FIT, likely removing risk into ‘16.”
The revenue and EPS estimates for FY16 have been raised, following the meaningful Q3 beat.
Latest Ratings for FIT
|Sep 2016||Pacific Crest||Downgrades||Sector Weight||Underweight|
|Aug 2016||Morgan Stanley||Maintains||Overweight|
|Aug 2016||Deutsche Bank||Maintains||Buy|
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Domestic beehives linked to spike in viral infections in nearby wild bumblebee populations—through shared flowers
Many species of wild bumblebees are in decline—and new research shows that diseases spread by domestic honeybees may be a major culprit.
Several of the viruses associated with bumblebees’ trouble are moving from managed bees in apiaries to nearby populations of wild bumblebees—“and we show this spillover is likely occurring through flowers that both kinds of bees share,” says Samantha Alger, a scientist at the University of Vermont who led the new research.
“Many wild pollinators are in trouble and this finding could help us protect bumblebees,” she says. “This has implications for how we manage domestic bees and where we locate them.”
The first-of-its-kind study was published June 26 in the journal PLOS ONE.
Around the globe, the importance of wild pollinators has been gaining attention as diseases and declines in managed honeybees threaten key crops. Less well understood is that many of the threats to honeybees (Apis mellifera)—including land degradation, certain pesticides, and diseases—also threaten native bees, such as the rusty patched bumblebee, recently listed under the Endangered Species Act; it has declined by nearly 90% but was once an excellent pollinator of cranberries, plums, apples and other agricultural plants.
The research team—three scientists from the University of Vermont and one from the University of Florida—explored 19 sites across Vermont. They discovered that two well-know RNA viruses found in honeybees—deformed wing virus and black queen cell virus—were higher in bumblebees collected less than 300 meters from commercial beehives. The scientists also discovered that active infections of the deformed wing virus were higher near these commercial apiaries but no deformed wing virus was found in the bumblebees they collected where foraging honeybees and apiaries were absent.
Most impressive, the team detected viruses on 19% of the flowers they sampled from sites near apiaries. “I thought this was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. What are the chances that you’re going to pick a flower and find a bee virus on it?” says Alger. “Finding this many was surprising.” In contrast, the scientists didn’t detect any bee viruses on flowers sampled more than one kilometer from commercial beehives.
The UVM scientists—including Alger and co-author Alex Burnham, a doctoral student—and other bee experts have for some years suspected that RNA viruses might move from honeybees to bumblebees through shared flowers. But—with the exception of one small study in a single apiary—the degree to which these viruses can be “horizontally transmitted,” the scientists write, with flowers as the bridge, has not been examined until now.
Taken together, these results strongly suggest that “viruses in managed honeybees are spilling over to wild bumblebee populations and that flowers are an important route,” says Alison Brody, a professor in UVM’s Department of Biology, and senior author on the new PLOS study. “Careful monitoring and treating of diseased honeybee colonies could protect wild bees from these viruses as well as other pathogens or parasites.”
Just like chicken?
Alger—an expert beekeeper and researcher in UVM’s Department of Plant & Soil Science and Gund Institute for Environment—is deeply concerned about the long-distance transport of large numbers of honeybees for commercial pollination. “Big operators put hives on flatbed trucks and move them to California to pollinate almonds and then onto Texas for another crop,” she says—carrying their diseases wherever they go. And between bouts of work on monoculture farm fields, commercial bees are often taken to more pristine natural habitats “to rest and recover, where there is diverse, better forage,” says Alger.
“This research suggests that we might want to keep apiaries outside of areas where there are vulnerable pollinator species, like the rusty patched bumblebees,” Alger says, “especially because we have so much more to learn about what these viruses are actually doing to bumblebees.”
Honeybees are an important part of modern agriculture, but “they’re non-native. They’re livestock animals,” Alger says. “A huge misconception in the public is that honeybees serve as the iconic image for pollinator conservation. That’s ridiculous. It’s like making chickens the iconic image of bird conservation.”
Learn more: How Honeybees May Infect Bumblebees
Check this out if you are interested in beekeeping: Flowers Across Sydney
The Latest on: Wild bumblebees
via Google News
The Latest on: Wild bumblebees
- When honeybees get stuck in water, they create their own waves and 'surf' to safetyon November 26, 2019 at 5:29 am
Anything that helps us better understand bees is likely worth the effort, given the ecological importance of bees and their widespread declines in recent years — a problem plaguing many wild species ...
- Bumble Bee Tuna Files for Bankruptcy Following Price-Fixing Scandalon November 25, 2019 at 7:55 am
Bumble Bee Foods—which along with StarKist and Chicken of the Sea is one of America's largest canned tuna brands—filed for bankruptcy on Thursday and plans to sell its business to the Taiwanese ...
- Bumble Bee Foods files for bankruptcyon November 24, 2019 at 9:45 am
Bumble Bee Foods has been around for 120 years. It sells tuna, salmon, sardines and other seafood items under several brands including Bumble Bee, Brunswick, Snow’s, Wild Selections and Beach Cliff.
- Bumble Bee Foods files for bankruptcy, plans to sell assets to Taiwan company for $925 millionon November 23, 2019 at 8:42 am
The company sells canned and pouched tuna, salmon, sardines, and specialty seafood products under the Bumble Bee, Brunswick, Sweet Sue, Snow’s, Beach Cliff and Wild Selections brands. Another ...
- Falling tuna consumption didn't crush Bumble Bee, but it didn't helpon November 22, 2019 at 4:19 pm
"New packaging hasn't necessarily been the answer." The three largest tuna companies are also facing competition from upstarts like Wild Planet Foods and Safe Catch, which market their tuna as safer ...
- Bumble Bee tuna files for bankruptcyon November 22, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Bumble Bee Food has been around for 120 years. It sells tuna, salmon, sardines, and other seafood items under several brands including Bumble Bee, Brunswick, Snow’s, Wild Selections, and Beach Cliff.
- Bumble Bee tuna files for bankruptcy, citing 'legal challenges'on November 22, 2019 at 11:43 am
The company anticipates that Bumble Bee tuna and other products from their additional brands, including Beach Cliff, Brunswick, Snow’s and Wild Selections, will remain on the shelves in the U.S. and ...
- Here’s why Bumble Bee tuna went bankrupt, and no it’s not all because of millennialson November 22, 2019 at 8:17 am
“The brand has become irrelevant. . . . It’s a combination of not understanding what the consumer wants and not delivering for them.” San Diego-based Bumble Bee—whose brands include Brunswick, Snow’s, ...
- Bumble Bee Foods files for bankruptcy, plans to sell assets for $925 millionon November 22, 2019 at 7:05 am
The bankruptcy announcement comes more than two years after Bumble Bee Foods pleaded guilty in a tuna price-fixing scheme. Bumble Bee Foods has been around for 120 years. It sells tuna, salmon, ...
- Bumble Bee files for bankruptcyon November 21, 2019 at 10:57 pm
Its bid will be the baseline for a court-supervised auction process aimed at getting the highest offer for the company's business. Bumble Bee sells seafood products under the Bumble Bee, Brunswick, ...
via Bing News


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BY DEBBIE PAGE
A chance meeting at Mooresville gas station in 1990 led to a decades-long romance for a dynamic business duo that built a McDonald’s network in Iredell County and northern Mecklenburg County. As Mike and Melissa Neader close the sale of their franchises and enter retirement this week, their dedication to their life “mission” is winding down, but they are adamant that their involvement in their beloved community will continue.
The couple’s story began when Mike, who was supervising his father Jim’s Mooresville and Cornelius McDonald’s locations, pulled into the Texaco gas station off Exit 36 and was intrigued by the cute brunette clad in a yellow landscaping company T-shirt, white tennis shorts and work boots he saw at the gas pumps.
In the market for a landscaper for his stores, Mike jotted down the company’s name and number from her T-shirt as he stood behind her in line at the cash register. Melissa, who was in a serious work mode, said she didn’t notice Mike at all and jokingly teases that he stalked her.
Mike later called the company number, arranged for a meeting with Melissa’s boss, and signed a contract for landscaping services for the stores. A few days later, he was pleasantly surprised when Melissa and her crew arrived to take care of the landscaping.
Melissa, who aspired to be a state park ranger, was foreman for the work crew that serviced 48 accounts a week. She and another employee, Eileen, “kicked butt” and “were the talk of Mooresville,” she said.
Because of her tight schedule, Melissa was all business in her conversations with Mike until she noticed a Harley-Davidson sticker on his Blazer as they talked in the parking lot one day. “When are you going to take me for a ride?” she asked.
Thirty-one years later, Mike laughed at the memory and added, “What a ride!”
As they couple’s relationship grew serious and they got engaged in the next few months, Melissa “switched her total life plan.”
Realizing Mike was part of a family business, Melissa put in her notice at the landscaping company and began working for Mike’s dad Jim, immersing herself in learning every role and process in running a McDonald’s restaurant. As a breakfast coordinator, she “learned to cook, cashier, everything.”
The burger business was already in Mike’s blood. His father was a supervisor for Burger Chef in West Virginia, and Mike grew up going with his dad to the stores.
Mike was 14 when his dad decided to build a McDonald’s franchise in 1974 in Statesville beside Signal Hill Mall, and he started working in the store alongside his father when it opened in 1975.
Jim quickly expanded his business to Lincoln County, Mooresville, Cornelius, and other Iredell County locations in the next few years.
After the couple married in 1991, the Neaders finally became owner-operators of their first store on Plaza Drive in Mooresville. They spent their honeymoon in Raleigh at an operational advisory board meeting. The couple eventually bought four of his dad’s other stores in Statesville and Mooresville and then opened six more locations over the years.
Mike noted that he spent two years going through the extensive process and training to become a store owner and purchase that first store from his dad. While he and Melissa operated the Mooresville location, Mike also continued to work as a supervisor of his dad’s stores.
Melissa emphasized that nothing was given to them by Mike’s dad. “That’s a misconception. We sacrificed and did everything all other operators go through as you build your business,” she said.
“And a lot of money,” added Mike. “The plan was to buy Dad out, little by little.” He also said that being an owner’s kid actually put more pressure and scrutiny on him by the McDonald’s corporation before he was approved.
The Neaders went on to own 10 stores, deciding that was the maximum they could operate and still provide the best service to their customers.
Mike could have gone elsewhere to open a franchise, but he truly enjoyed working with his father. “He and I were very close,” he said.
Mike said he and Melssia “were in the right place and did the right things” to make the locations successful. “We grew slow, opening a new store about every two years,” he explained.
“We’re hands on. If we wanted to, we could have had 20 stores. I just didn’t think we could run them properly.”
The couple was serious about being in the stores and in the community every day, along with their children Nick and Eliza who later joined the family business in various capacities. Youngest daughter Jennie also gets in on the marketing fun with her mom and sister.
As they opened each new store, Melissa was in charge of dining room design and marketing while Mike would get the kitchen and back of the house ready. “We handle things very well together,” said Melissa.
The original Signal Hill location is now in its third rebuild, but Melissa noted “the same Golden Arches have watched over three generations of Neaders.” She also reminisced about the generations of customers who celebrated football victories, held birthday parties and fundraisers, and enjoyed special events over the years at the original location.
The Neaders said their biggest challenge has always been finding the best people to work in their stores. Melissa sees herself as the “head cheerleader” for their crews to foster a good working atmosphere. They have always tried to bury any negativity or challenges with the positive, whether from within the store or from outside forces.
The evolution of operating McDonald’s restaurants has also been fascinating to Mike. He remembers the first drive-thru being added, which he said “changed the industry.”
He and Melissa also noted other changes, including the additions of credit card payments, cash registers connected to constantly updated servers, order kiosks, the advent of delivery services like DoorDash, and new kitchen technology, with conveyer belts and layouts that drastically reduced employees’ steps.
The business also increasingly emphasizes efficiency.
“If you can shave five seconds off your drive-thru an hour, that equates to so many dollars per day,” added Mike.
Ninety-two percent of their business comes through the drive-thru now that their dining rooms are closed due to COVID-19.
Melissa, who is an Iredell County commissioner, said that her post-retirement schedule is already full with her political duties, WAME radio show, continued volunteering in schools, and McDonald’s marketing consulting with the new second generation owner, Jason Cornet, who currently operates six stores in the Salisbury area and bought all five of the Neaders’ remaining stores.
“The biggest change I will see is that I will be toting less biscuits,” she joked. They have purchased a lot of Happy Meal toys to give out on future school visits.
“We don’t want to stop what we started in the community. We’re going to find ways to make it continue with the new team,” said Melissa.
“The connections in the community are so important, and we don’t want to lose those. It’s given me so much fun and joy to represent the arches.’ What other job can I wear costumes and not get in trouble?” Melissa laughed.
The memories are so numerous. Without McDonald’s, Mike noted, “I wouldn’t have met Melissa.”
They have also had a number of famous guests in their stores over the years. Jimmy Carter, Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and numerous pro sports figures and race car drivers have stopped in to visit their locations.
Mike plans a lot of long-neglected fishing in the boat he bought in 2017 and only has 40 hours of run time on its engine.
Citing his retirement research, Mike said, “I’m not going to make any big plans for six months. I’m just gonna keep going to the gym every morning, have my coffee and breakfast here, and then we’ll see.”
He’s not ruling anything out, including part-time work or other ventures.
As he enters this new life phase, Mike said, “It’s time. We’re going out on our terms. The stores are running well, clean, up-to-date and modernized.”
As they end their decades with McDonald’s this week, Mike said he feels a weight lifting from his shoulders. “I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m ready. I have no regrets.”


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HOTELS across the Australasian region are capping occupancy levels in the face of ongoing staff shortages, new research from Euromonitor found, with the issue likely to continue until backpacker numbers recover to pre-COVID levels.
The report, which was presented as part of a Webjet briefing for merchant bank UBS, predicts that global domestic tourism spend will rise to more than $4.5 trillion in 2028, along with $3 trillion-plus in spending by international tourists around the world.
Although global inbound travel arrivals are expected to be almost 30% above pre-pandemic levels by 2028, according to the global research firm, the Asia-Pacific region is recovering at a “slow and steady” rate. Wellness, theme parks, and food and dining are forecast to be the fasting-growing categories, at 15%, 14% and 13% respectively.
Meanwhile in Europe, duty-free shopping is predicted to see strong growth, up 11%, followed by festivals and leisure events (7.9%) and guided tours (6.8%). Duty-free shopping is also expected to be the fastest-growing category in America (9%), ahead of medical tourism (7%) and experiences (7%).
The new report also looks at the hotel wholesale sector, which is estimated to be worth US$58.6 billion, and is expected to see 7.7% compound annual growth.


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A Promising Year For Gardeners
By Teresa Woodard
Goodbye, 2020, and hello 2021! Thankfully, the new year is shaping up to be a bright one for the gardening world. Here are a few highlights of what’s to come.
Experts report more than 20 million new growers took up their trowels in response to the pandemic. The nation went from 42 million gardeners to 63 million in the past year. And following the Black Lives Matter movement, the green industry is working to become more supportive and inclusive. Check out Black Girls With Gardens and Walter Hood’s new book, Black Landscapes Matter.
Public gardens are reporting record attendance figures with as much as a 300 percent boost in a pandemic year. Luckily, more public gardens are slated to open in 2021. Head to Detroit to see the Oudolf Garden Detroit opening this summer at Belle Isle. Last August, more than 26,000 plants were installed on the 2.6-acre site designed by internationally renowned Piet Oudolf in front of the Anne Scripps Witcomb Conservatory. Visit Waterfront Botanical Gardens, a 23-acre urban garden being developed on a former landfill along the Ohio River in downtown Louisville. The visitor center, its surrounding gardens and Beargrass Creek Pathway are now open. Future plans include a Japanese garden, children’s garden, biopond, pollinator meadow and conservatory. Also, plan a trip to Kingwood Center, a historic garden in Mansfield, Ohio, to see the new visitor center and Gateway Gardens by Austin Eischeid, an Oudolf protege. While the matrix planting will take three years to reach its full potential, the new garden should be quite lovely by June.
More Garden Content
The green industry has stepped up to provide stay-at-home gardeners with more online content.
Free of charge, I virtually toured English gardens through the UK’s National Garden Scheme, learned from garden masters at Garden Master Class Weekly Garden Chats and heard from new book authors at the Garden Conservancy’s Literary Series.
Every 17 years, a large brood of cicadas emerge in the Midwest and make big buzz – reaching up to 100 decibels — for five to six weeks. The brood will return this year in May. While there’s no need to spray chemicals, you may want to cover or delay planting new fruit trees this year. The stems are vulnerable spots for cicadas’ egg laying. In 2021, also be on the lookout for spotted lanternflies and viburnum leaf beetles.
More New Plants
Gardeners will find new plants at the garden center this spring. A few favorites include:
- Better Boxwoods: NewGen™ boxwoods are promising higher resistance to boxwood blight and leafminers. In addition, Gem Box® inkberry holly by Proven Winners is a tougher native alternative to boxwood.
- No-So-Basic Houseplants: No more simple snakeplants and pothos. This year’s houseplant darlings include tropical calatheas, sculptural mangaves and bold alocasias.
- Super Veggies: Pack more nutrients and flavor in your garden crops with smart seed selections and soil amendments. See this article and video for more tips.
- Color-Charged Annuals: Consumers can add instant eye candy to their landscapes with brilliant new annuals like Marvel II pom-pom marigolds, Double Delight begonias, Roller Coaster impatiens and Surprise Sparkle petunias.
- Pollinator Favorites: The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden trials pollinator plants each year and posts its favorite annuals, perennials and shrubs.
For more pandemic trends, see our post on trend-spotting from the green industry’s trade show –Cultivate 2020.


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MediaEverywhere provides publishers with an SDK based on HTML5 that allows them to create custom mobile websites in a short period of time but also re-use the work for native apps for smartphones and tablets. The SDK allows publishers to control the look of their content while easily distributing it to multiple devices in a cost-effective way.
via Polar Mobile arms publishers with MediaEverywhere HTML5 tool — Tech News and Analysis.
And he said mobile consumption is increasingly moving to the web browser. Pew reported earlier this month that 60 perecnt of tablet news users rely on their browser to get news on their tablet, compared to 23 percent that mostly use apps.


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In recent months, Dash has shown great growth in Venezuela. Different conventional stores, restaurants and supermarkets began to accept the cryptocurrency to make payments. Now, the famous fast food establishment, KFC, joined the apparent fever that exists in the South American country for digital currencies.
At the beginning, KFC will only implement this in Caracas (capital of Venezuela), to study the acceptance they will have among the public. Depending on that, it will expand to other locations in the country.
KFC and cryptocurrencies
This is not the first initiative that has the fast food chain related to cryptocurrencies. In January 2018, they did a test in Canada where they offered the “Bitcoin Bucket”, which allowed users to buy a chicken cube with the most famous digital currency of all.
During this test, KFC joked with a marketing gimmick they made public in a tweet, which read: “KFC Canada introduces the Bitcoin Bucket. Sure, we do not know exactly what Bitcoins are, or how they work, but that should not come between you and a little chicken to suck your fingers. ”
The “Dash fever” in Venezuela
The Venezuelan population, which every day must fight with the highest inflation in the continent, has found a lifeline in cryptocurrencies to try to maintain the value of their money. Although Bitcoin and Ethereum are widely used by Venezuelans, there is a digital currency that stands out among the others for the number of businesses that accept it to make payments: Dash.
“The Dash movement is spreading and growing rapidly in Venezuela,” said Dash Merchant Venezuela and Dash Text co-founder Alejandro Echeverría. “First, it was the food trucks that small family businesses started adopting Dash for payments. Now we are attracting more established businesses. ”
The Dash organization is decided to be that life-saving that the population of the country so much needs to face the inflation that grows day by day. That is why they have tried to adapt as much as possible to the needs of society.
For example, in November of this year, Dash Text was launched, a cryptocurrency transaction service based on SMS that does not need the Internet to carry out operations. This is particularly useful in Venezuela, since most of the population does not have a smart phone to connect to the network to make a payment with digital coins.
The following two tabs change content below. I am a student of International Studies, interested in new technologies and their impact in the world. Faithful believer that tenacity is the basis of success.
Also published on Medium.


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Apple has announced that it will not be selling NBC shows for the upcoming television season on its online iTunes Store. The move follows NBC’ decision to not renew its agreement with iTunes after Apple declined to pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC TV episode, which would have resulted in the retail price to consumers increasing to $4.99 per episode from the current $1.99. ABC, CBS, FOX and The CW, along with more than 50 cable networks, are signed up to sell TV shows from their upcoming season on iTunes at $1.99 per episode.
“We are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes because we would not agree to their dramatic price increase,” said the man named Cue. “We hope they will change their minds and offer their TV shows to the tens of millions of iTunes customers.”
Apple’s agreement with NBC ends in December. Since NBC would withdraw their shows in the middle of the television season, Apple has decided to not offer NBC TV shows for the upcoming television season beginning in September. NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales.
Editor's note: That's certainly a different spin than the pigopolist content owner put on this story...
What's your take?
with one of these convenient chargers.
- Apple event scheduled for March 9th
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- Modern Family episode shot on iPhones, iPads, MacBook
- Dropbox adds new iOS 8 extension
- New Yorker profile highlights Ive's leadership
- Apple Car rumor hits the right checkboxes
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- Gassée on Apple redefining what's possible
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- Apple uses store shelves to control iPhone designs leaks
- Podcast: Super Bowl, Apple Photos, New Verizon Rates, Plane Crash App
- New Photos app available in pre-release of OS X 10.10.3
- Report: Apple pitching new plan to TV industry
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- Apple to convert sapphire glass factory to data center command center
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- McCracken on TUAW shutting down
Browse and search for more articles


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Stay up-to-date on all the all the latest FinTech news and information from around the world in the BFC FinTech Monitor.
Around the World
- Walletmor has introduced a payment implant for contactless payments. The device is approximately 0.5 millimeters in thickness and uses NFC technology. The implant costs EUR 199.
- European FinTechs without a banking license will soon be able to issue physical and virtual payment cards, in part thanks to an agreement between payment provider Enfuce and Visa.
- HSBC has launched a free app that informs companies, including non-HSBC client companies, about possible fraud.
- The European Central Bank has released their annual report on the international role of the euro, in which economists Massimo Ferrari and Arnaud Mehl express concerns over the growth of artificial currencies fueled by foreign tech giants.
- The European Union (EU) plans to create a single digital wallet for member countries. The digital wallet will store documents, payment information and passwords as well as allow for secure access to private and government services based on a single online identifier.
- News related to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs): (1) the European Central Bank has stated that refusing to create a CBDC could deprive states of financial independence; (2) the developer of the digital yuan believes that the Chinese CBDC will be able to work using the Ethereum blockchain environment; and (3) Chinese authorities are planning to distribute USD 6.2 million worth of their CBDC to Beijing residents.
- In cryptocurrency news: (1) Google has lifted its ban on advertising cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges in the United States, where authorities intend to track cryptocurrency transactions and exchange data on cryptocurrency investors with other countries; (2) the Chinese regulator has clarified its position on digital assets; (3) a cryptocurrency mining option has been added to the Norton 360 antivirus program; (4) the founder of the cryptobank Galaxy Digital has stated his belief that bitcoin will never become a payment instrument; and (5) the President of El Salvador was criticized for wanting to legalize bitcoin.
- Important upcoming events: (1) the FinTech World Forum; the Banking Technology Forum: Customer Experience Summit; CX Asia Week 2021 and FinovateAsia.
- The Wildberries marketplace has launched a FinTech service based on artificial intelligence (AI) that allows users to easily buy goods on credit and pay for them in installments.
- In Sber news: (1) a new AI system is being developed to prevent operational defects; (2) problems persist with the MIR payment system; and (3) Sber plans to create an open ecosystem.
- A new company that provides services for the implementation of digital services to small banks may be established in Russia.
- Three important upcoming events: (1) Digital Transformation and Banking Technologies: Status 2021, (2) FinTech: Trends from Leaders and (3) Finadtech.
- Tinkoff Bank is prepared to launch cryptocurrency trading as soon as Central Bank restrictions are lifted.
- The principle stakeholder of mobile operator MTS, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, has stated his belief that the company must transform into an IT company that develops telecommunication, AI, cloud, FinTech and other technological solutions.
- The X5 Retail Group, which operates the grocery retail chains Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Karusel and Chizhik, is preparing to launch its own payment service in partnership with Alfa Bank.
- Some good long reads: (1) How the Fate of Russian Startups was in the Pandemic; (2) AI in Banking: Combating Fraud And Gender Discrimination; (3) Top Trends in 5 Industries: FinTech, E-Commerce, Health, Entertainment and Smart Devices; (4) Fix It Is Immediate: Why Do Users Hate Chatbots; (5) Personnel Digitization; and (6) Artificial Intelligence in the Bank’s Work: For Good or For Bad?
- A concept for general regulations over the activities of groups of companies developing digital services based on one ecosystem has been published.
- Ukraine may soon become the epicenter of cryptocurrencies. Toward this end, the government of Ukraine is working on the new Law on Virtual Assets, and several mining farms are being built next to 2 nuclear power plants.
- Revolut has launched money transfer operations to Ukraine. The commission for a transfer is between EUR 3 and EUR 5, and funds are credited to a recipient’s account within 3–5 business days.
- The Ukrainian FinTech Hub has posted an interview with Elena Sosedka, the chair of Concordbank’s supervisory board and the founder of Concord FinTech Solutions. In the interview, she discusses how to create a neobank, including how much time and investment is needed for this.
- The Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Committee for the Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have entered into a cooperation agreement with the charitable organization Luminate. The main goal of the agreement is to develop AI domestically as well as create a unified state policy on AI.
- Moneyveo and IBOX Bank intend to create a joint financial product and will give a presentation to this end later this summer.
- Privatbank has launched money transfers using phone numbers through their mobile app. They have also installed biometric terminals that allow users to pay for purchases in Jysk stores.
- A couple of nice long reads: (1) What the Future of the Cryptocurrency Industry Will Be and (2) How the Internet of Things Is Enriching the World of Finance.
- IBA will launch T-Pay in Brest. T-Pay is a public transport fare payment system that allows for payment to be made via an app or a telegram bot. The new feature will launch in July 2021. The company has implemented similar projects in Moldova and will soon start working in Azerbaijan.
- The number of non-cash transactions in Kazakhstan increased 96.6% compared to last year.
- Damir Kakiyev, managing director of the Mass Business Block of Alfa Bank Kazakhstan discusses how much the bank spends on digitalization, why the bank’s mobile app has become so popular and what it is like to work with micro- and small-sized businesses in the midst of a pandemic.
- Sergey Golovan, the director of digital financial services at Beeline Kazakhstan, joined the Power of FinTech podcast to discuss how mobile operators are using FinTech, how mobile operators work with data and how much mobile operators earn from financial technology.
- The city of Dushanbe has launched a new feature to the DC Wallet mobile app that allows users to make free-of-charge international transfers to UZCARD cards anytime, anywhere.
- The Banks and Retail: Digital Transformation and Interaction international forum was held in Tashkent, bringing together more than 300 representatives of the banking and payments industry and retail, consulting, technology and telecommunications companies. A summary report of the event is available here.
- Funds can now be added to HUMO cards within 5 minutes using the CONTACT payment system.
- The chief IT officer of Pasha Bank has announced an increase in technology investments, with a focus on solutions that create value (e.g. faster, more convenient services) for customers and the organization.
- Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs can now apply to use business banking products without visiting a branch location by using the ASAN İmza solution.
- According to the head of an expert group on payment systems and digital banking of the Association of Banks of Azerbaijan, the creation of convenient and secure mobile banking is one of the priority directions for financial institutions of Azerbaijan.
- The non-bank credit institution Azpul will soon start issuing loans using biometric technologies thanks to an agreement signed with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan.
- Dyninno Group continues to develop its operations in Moldova, offering FinTech solutions to both individual clients and businesses.


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Living alone for a while now, the members of Shinhwa sought out an expert in living alone and learned his ways.
On December 2, jTBC’s Shinhwa Broadcast invited Kim Dong Woo, who shared his methods on living alone. Some of his methods included a five-minute wash and dry of his clothes as well as using irons to cook food.
Kim Dong Woo taught the Shinhwa members how to efficiently use the iron as a stove using foil plates to cook everything from ramen to meat.
The Shinhwa members noted that the cooking time took way too long, but that it also helped them to appreaciate every moment while eating.
Andy, especially stood out during the cooking lesson, suggesting new recipes and iron cooking methods, such as using two irons to cook both sides of the meat, even surprising the expert himself.
Andy ended up becoming the star student of the expert after outsmarting the expert several times.
Photo Credit: jTBC


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As the RUNE crypto fast approaches its all-time high (ATH) and Loopring’s potential growth garners attention, BlockDAG marks a significant milestone: raising $10 million in presale! This feat has pushed BlockDAG up as a contender for the best crypto ETF, offering disruptive technology and promising returns, reshaping the search for lucrative digital asset investments. Read further to unravel how BlockDAG, RUNE, and Loopring are reshaping the market trajectory in 2024.
RUNE Crypto Surges: Analysts Bullish
The RUNE crypto, linked with THORChain, exhibits positive momentum, surging to $9 from a recent low of $7.28. This uptrend mirrors the broader recovery in the crypto market, reminiscent of trends observed in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. THORChain’s expanding ecosystem and escalating transaction volumes, handling over $400 million in 24 hours, significantly contribute to its growth. Built on Cosmos technology, it boasts lower transaction costs. The recent execution of a significant token burn, eliminating 60 million RUNE tokens, further fuels optimism for its future performance. Analysts anticipate a bullish outlook for RUNE, projecting a potential 25% increase to reach its ATH of $11.46.
Loopring Price Forecast: Insights for 2024 & Beyond
Loopring, a platform aiming to enhance centralised and decentralised exchanges, is poised for varied growth. The Loopring price prediction hints at a potential increase to $0.57 by the end of 2024, with a long-term forecast reaching as high as $1.89 by 2030. Its focus on secure, efficient, and transparent solutions on the Ethereum blockchain aims to address inefficiencies through high-throughput and cost-effective transactions. These predictions underscore Loopring’s ambition to expand its ecosystem and enhance hybrid solutions, offering potential benefits for investors and users alike.
BlockDAG’s Ascent to Cryptocurrency Prominence
BlockDAG (BDAG) has recently gained significant attention in cryptocurrency, particularly after its impressive keynote unveiling on the digital billboards of Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Positioning itself as a direct competitor to Kaspa, it brands itself as the “Kaspa Killer,” aspiring to break into the top 50 cryptocurrencies listed on major ranking platforms like CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.
BlockDAG is not just a cryptocurrency; it represents an entire digital economy encapsulated by BDAG coins, a crypto payment card, and a series of mining rigs known as the X-series. These rigs mine BDAG coins, which users can spend using the BlockDAG crypto payment card or trade on various exchanges, seamlessly integrating into the ecosystem.
BlockDAG offers an intriguing option for investors seeking the best crypto ETF or digital investment opportunities in 2024. With an initial presale price of $0.0025 per BDAG coin and a projected listing price of $0.05, the potential ROI stands at a staggering 1900%. This remarkable potential has captured the interest of early investors, leading to a rapid fundraising of $10.4 million.
In response to the enthusiastic investor response, BlockDAG has announced a $2 million mega giveaway for 50 fortunate members of its community. Participants are encouraged to engage with BlockDAG’s social media, submit their wallet addresses, complete various quests to enhance their chances of winning, and invite friends to participate.
As it competes for a spot among the top 50 cryptos, BlockDAG emerges as a compelling option for investors seeking diversification through the best crypto ETFs and digital assets.
BlockDAG: A Strong Contender for the Best Crypto ETF
In exploring the future of digital assets, BlockDAG’s journey unfolds alongside the RUNE crypto’s pursuit of its ATH and Loopring’s potential growth prospects. BlockDAG, with its notable presale success and commitment to community engagement through a $2 million mega giveaway, stands out as a contender for the best crypto ETF. Its strategic advantages make it a preferred choice for savvy investors, positioning it as a leader in crypto ETFs and digital asset diversification.
Disclaimer: The statements, views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily represent those of Crypto Reporter. Crypto Reporter is not responsible for the trustworthiness, quality, accuracy of any materials in this article. This article is provided for educational purposes only. Crypto Reporter is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Do your research and invest at your own risk.


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Taxman catches up with Toyota
TOYOTA has agreed to pay an unspecified amount in retrospective taxes after authorities found it had not reported some income. A company spokesman declined to provide details. Newspaper reports said Toyota had not declared 5bn yen (£27m) in taxable income.
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- Bugatti Chiron hypercar breaks new record at 304.77mph in Top Gear
- Porsche unveils its first all-electric sports car
- Audi releases a trailer showing off the brand new A4
- Aston Martin reveals the engine roar of its first SUV
- Jaguar Land Rover opens UK's biggest state-of-the-art design centre
- H&H Classics auctions the classic 1983 Ferrari 308 GTB QV
- Lego and Land Rover teamed up for new Defender made of 2,573 bricks
- Are beaten up UK bank shares an opportunity to profit?
- How to invest in the new era of falling interest rates
- Introducing the new 'unstoppable' £40,000 Land Rover Defender


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Small farmers clash with big business
DAYTON, Va.– At the wholesale produce market in this Mennonite community, farming families arrive by horse and buggy and pallets are stacked high with freshly harvested Shenandoah Valley onions, corn, green peppers and squash.
The setting evokes a simpler, pre-industrial era. In reality, small-scale farmers are experiencing growing pains as they adapt to the country's expanding diet for locally grown foods and the exacting demands of high-volume distributors of their produce.
Companies such as Sysco Corp., Whole Foods Market Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. want guaranteed volumes, set prices for an entire season and the ability to trace produce back to its source in the event of a food-related health scare, among other things.
However, such standards, and other formal trappings of the business world - contracts, attorneys, technology - often conflict with the ethics, and practical considerations, of small-scale farmers, especially those who are deeply religious.
"They feel they are producing something as safe and secure as their relationship with the Lord," said David Watson of the Association of Family Farms.
Moreover, growers in temperate climates don't have a 12-month supply of produce. "Trying to match what the buyers need with what's being planted" is one of the biggest challenges, said Richard Rohrer, a Mennonite farmer and manager of the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction.
When one large buyer recently demanded insurance - which is needed in case a fruit or vegetable makes someone ill - the Dayton farmers balked.
"We deal more on the handshake, personal commitment - look the grower in the eye," said farmer Vernon Hoover, the Dayton auction's independent buyer.
Still, Amish and Mennonite and even non-religious small-scale growers in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Tennessee, New York and other states are mindful of the money to be made from this emerging relationship with big distributors. And they are willing to engage in some horse trading to create business relationships.
For example, they want industry demands such as specialty boxes and company labels to be factored into their price, according to Rich Pirog, associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. And while wholesale markets, or auctions, benefit the food industry by bringing together larger numbers of growers in one location, they also make it easier for smaller growers to make connections to representatives of big companies and their resources, including refrigerated trucks and bar-code labels.
The demand for what small-scale farmers have to offer is burgeoning.
Wal-Mart last month said it would sell $400 million worth of locally grown produce this year, making it the largest player in that market. Its suppliers include "many Amish and Mennonite growers" who work through third party suppliers, spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. in June pledged to purchase 25 percent of at least one produce item for each of its stores from small and mid-sized farms located within 200 miles.
Whole Foods Market purchased 22 percent of its produce locally last year, up from the previous year's 19 percent.
By any measure, though, the nation's 50-plus Amish and Mennonite produce auctions remain a sliver of food industry sales. Total combined retail and food service fresh produce sales were $94.8 billion in 2005.


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Best Buy to shrink store footprint and lease space to other tenants
New York City — Best Buy plans to reduce its store size by subleasing store space to smaller retailers, according to The Los Angeles Times. The chain’s new stores will be in the 36,000-sq.-ft. range, down from its current 45,000-sq.-ft. model.
"We can reduce our overall square footage while actually increasing our presence," Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said at the company’s annual shareholders meeting this week. "It’s an opportunity to capture cost savings and get ourselves ‘right size.’"
According to the report, the new stores that move into the Best Buy space will require their own restrooms, electrical systems and air-conditioning in addition to floor-to-ceiling walls separating the businesses.
Click here to read the full story.
Target to transfer some Canadian leases to Walmart
MINNEAPOLIS—Target last week announced that Target Canada has reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the leasehold interests in up to 39 sites, currently operated by Zellers.
Specific locations will be identified later this fall. Terms of this transaction were not disclosed.
The sites are among the up to 220 possible sites whose leasehold interests Target is acquiring as part of a real estate transaction announced in January. In May, Target selected its initial group of 105 sites, the vast majority of which will become Target stores.
Target plans to announce the selection of a second group of sites this fall and expects to open 100 to 150 Target stores throughout Canada beginning in 2013.
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Toys”R”Us brings “Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation” to life
WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us announced that it will offer an exclusive collection of toys based on the animated short Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation, playing in theaters in conjunction with Cars 2.
Examples in the line include:
Sheriff Woody 16-inch action figure dressed in Hawaiian shirt, straw hat and lei. The toy can say 20 phrases when kids pull the string on his back and plays Hawaiin music.
Hawaiian Vacation Talking Buzz Lightyear 12-inch action figure dressed in beaded necklace, faux grass skirt and glow stick. The toy says more than 20 sayings, which are activated when kids press the red, green and blue buttons on his chest for mission mode, voice and sound effects.
Barbie and Ken set complete withHawaiian print shirt and shorts, as well as candy leis.
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Arts & Culture
1. Waikato Museum
Waikato Museum has launched a new website experience for visitors keen to try their hand at creating an online exhibition using images of items from the Museum’s collection.
Waikato Museum has extended its online collection of artworks, social history objects and taonga and has also made it easier for online visitors to find objects of interest.
Explore the collection here
A new social media initiative, calling the community to create a virtual exhibition by sharing photos of your favourite items on social media sites using the hashtag #mywaikatomuseum
2. Te Awamutu Museum
Head over to Te Awamutu Museum's Facebook page for fun colouring in pages to keep the kids entertained and get your museum fix with the "Whats in the Basement" video series.
3. The Meteor
Head over to The Meteor’s Facebook page for the regular event updates from artists all over NZ.


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The Delaware 105.9 LIVE STREAM can now be heard on the Forever Radio app, available for free for Google and Apple based devices.
The specific "Delaware 105.9" live streaming app many listeners are used to, will cease operation soon, so it is strongly advised to download the NEW APP today.
For the Google Play store find our app by CLICKING HERE.
For Apple users the new app can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Once the Forever Radio app is installed on your device, search for "Delaware 105.9"


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American Battery Startup Goes Public
BorgWarner affiliate targets commercial truck market
A new name is joining the ranks of electric vehicle battery suppliers: Romeo Power.
The company is being created through a reverse merger between Romeo Systems and RMG Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company that launched its own IPO in early 2019.
The merger, which is expected to close later this year, is due to raise about $384 million. Romeo will use the proceeds to expand its research and development efforts.
Formed in 2016, Romeo Systems is headquartered in Vernon, Calif. This makes it one of the few U.S.-based EV battery suppliers (Tesla and Lucid Motors eventually aim to produce their own batteries).
The company, which produces battery modules and packs, recently completed construction of a 7-GWh assembly plant in Los Angeles.
Romeo says it has tested more than 200 battery cells from 10 suppliers. To date, it has approved four cell designs.
Initially Romeo is focusing on the commercial vehicle market.
The company says it has orders from most Class 8 truck companies operating in North America. It also supplies batteries for buses and medium-duty trucks.
Romeo claims its batteries have as much as a 25% greater energy density—thanks to improved thermal management—than those currently used in electric commercial trucks. The design enables a longer lifecycle and shorter charging times, according to the supplier.
Romeo has a European manufacturing joint venture with BorgWarner, which provided the startup with a $50 million investment last year.
The battery supplier also has a partnership with another one of its investors, recycling specialist The Heritage Group. As part of a pilot program, the two companies plan to convert 500 diesel-powered trucks in Heritage’s fleet to electric power.
Heritage also is partnering with Heritage on a recycling center for Romeo’s batteries.
Republic Services, which placed an order for 2,500 electric garbage trucks from Nikola in August, also is investing in Romeo.
Mercedes has been putting diesels in vehicles since 1926. It has been offering them in the U.S. since 1949. And 2013 is seeing a range of offerings, including in its popular GLK SUV.
Although the term “continuous improvement” is generally associated with another company, Honda is certainly pursuing that approach, as is evidenced by the Accord, which is now in its ninth generation.
GM gives its mid-size pickup customers what they’ve been clamoring for, a clean and quiet, high-torque, fuel-efficient diesel.


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Google Purchases Frommer’s – is this a trend that will continue?
Posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 at 4:17 pm
As reported by Amir Efrati and Jeffrey Trachtenberg on wsj.com, Google has purchased Frommer’s travel-guides for $25 million. Along with its purchases of ITA software and Zagat, Google has now acquired three major travel related information brands. The Frommer purchase will put Google in a position to further capitalize the 2 to 3 billion dollars a year they reportedly make from travel related ads.
The purchase raises new questions related to ongoing antitrust allegations that Google directs and unfairly promotes its own content above competitors’ content such as TripAdvisor and Yelp. Stephen Kaufer, the CEO of TripAdvisor, questions Google’s move, stating that “It is puzzling to us that Google is going backwards to the opinion of one—a writer—when TripAdvisor is proof that travelers like the wisdom of crowds”.
We wonder if Google will continue the trend and become a producer of content in other industry verticals.


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LOUIS Vuitton products are illegally copied all over the world. Now Vuitton is battling a Belgian art student who’s allegedly knocking off a Vuitton handbag that was a collaboration between Marc Jacobs and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Nadia Plesner, a painter working with Designers for Darfur, depicted a Darfurian child holding a bag resembling the Vuitton one. “She used the accessories to show that this is what the world is paying attention to,” said Malcolm Harris, creator of Designers for Darfur. Plesner sells the images on posters and shirts, with the money going to the charity. But in February, Vuitton sent her a cease-and-desist letter stating: “We cannot help noticing that the design of [your] product includes the reproduction of a bag infringing on LV’s intellectual property rights.” Plesner continued and has now been smacked with a lawsuit. “I stand up for my artistic freedom to express my view of the world . . . without restrictions,” she said. Vuitton did not return e-mails for comment.
By PageSix.com Staff
May 6, 2008 | 8:24am


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2014 BDO Retail RiskFactor Report
BDO's Retail and Consumer Products practice has just released its 2014 Retail RiskFactor Report. The eighth annual edition of the study examined the risk factors in the most recent 10-K filings of the largest 100 publicly traded U.S. retailers. This year, we found that retailers are largely focused on mitigating the risks associated with new avenues of growth. With companies facing intense competition, a transforming digital landscape and heightened regulatory uncertainties, leaders will face new pressures as they pursue strategic initiatives while trying to reduce their exposure. Read the full report for additional insights on topics including cybersecurity concerns, workforce challenges, international operations and more.


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By COLlive reporter
Diamond Mogul Morris Gad, CEO of Almod Diamonds, has agreed to assume chairmanship of the NCFJE Annual Awards Dinner.
The usually discreet philanthropist agreed to be honored because of his desire to help the organization he says “breaks itself to help others.”
Gad, who tends to shun publicity, spent many long and hard years, building his business into a successful retail franchise, a source at NCFJE said.
“Now that he finds himself at the top of his game, he has increasingly shown favor to Jewish charities in the US and Israel, many of them Chabad institutions.”
Gad’s long-running friendship with NCFJE Chairman Rabbi Shea Hecht has borne fruit for many Crown Heights households, as he sponsors groceries, poultry, clothing vouchers and other charitable aid to local low-income families.
“There’s no question that he has played an incredible role in our mossad and in many others,” Rabbi Hecht said of Gad, “He was blessed with a passion for helping others.”
In a statement to the November 22 dinner organizers, Gad likewise heaped praise upon NCFJE, Hecht and Chabad shluchim.
“Every day they prove that there is nothing they won’t do to lend a hand to a fellow Jew. They are the hardest working people in the field. It’s as simple as that,” he said.


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Users of the Android OS is much more active and remove previously installed software, than owners of devices with iOS
The source, citing the report of the company AppsFlyer, says that users of devices running Android and iOS behave differently from the installed applications.
Rather, they remove a different number of applications. Examining 20 million cases remove applications (list present 500 programs) in the period from September to October, the experts came to the conclusion that Android users remove previously installed significantly more frequently than iOS users.
On average, removed three of the ten programs, but in the case of Android is the place to double the advantage in the frequency of deletions. For example, 43% of installed users Android games subsequently removed, while the owners of devices iOS was removed, only 13% of games, keeping the rest on the device. When talking about AT-related purchases, the value will be 21% and 9% in the same order.
AppsFlyer believes that this situation is supposedly that the average iOS devices have a greater storage capacity than the device with Android. However, statistics have long shown that iPhones and iPads often buy with a minimum amount of memory.
Another interesting feature is that US residents almost never delete unwanted. Under this source implies a variety of applications that the user is forced to set to receive some benefits. Often they are then immediately removed, but residents of the United States, regardless of the mobile platform make it extremely rare.


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Facebook dropped a virtual bomb on the digital publishing ecosystem with its announcement last month that the platform’s News Feed will focus mostly on users’ personal posts rather than content published by publishers or businesses.
The social network’s justification—that it will be making updates to the “ranking so that people have more opportunities to interact with the people they care about”—can be translated as such:
Although many publishers may be moving through the seven stages of grief, I suggest that we gladly skip ahead to the last one: acceptance.
No longer in a relationship
After continuous algorithm changes that sent teams into a tizzy over how they will possibly survive in the volatile world of media, it’s become clear that Facebook will take actions that best serve its business interests, leaving its publisher constituents high and dry in the process.
Although it’s a given that Facebook’s needs evolve, and that as a commercial entity, the company is committed to its shareholders, as a de-facto monopolizer in digital content discovery worldwide, it should be expected to assume responsibility for society’s greater good. This can come in the form of regulating content to promote truthful, safe news, and it can also come in the form of enabling any business to promote its company and content online.
This recent announcement, coupled with those that have come before, make it clear that Facebook will operate solely based on its own interests, leaving the ailing digital publishing industry to look after itself. And as in any relationship—business or personal—one grows tired of being treated poorly.
It’s time publishers resort back to their core competency and build a sustainable business, sans dependency on Uncle Mark. Here’s how:
No more illusions
Now that we’ve established that Facebook does not have digital publishers’ best interests in mind, and that playing ball for all of these years has resulted in the inability to piggyback off the social network’s massive distribution power for reach and monetization, we can perhaps move on.
Although publishers will never reach the scale of Facebook, they can take the bold move of aiming toward quality, engagement and effective advertising, and thus sustain and grow their businesses, as brands will prioritize, in the long run, high-quality content and engagement over massive numbers of views that don’t translate into meaningful interactions with editorial content or advertising.
So, thanks, Facebook: It’s been fun. But now it’s time to give the power back to the publishers.


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AutoX and Donfeng Motors to Mass-produce Autonomous Commercial Vehicles
AutoX is planning to install Level 4 autonomous commercial vehicles with the help of Dongfeng motors
According to 36Kr, autonomous driving Solution Company "AutoX" announced that it had received USD tens of millions of dollars in A3 rounds of financing from Dongfeng a few months ago. After the financing, Dongfeng and AutoX together plan to mass-produce Level 4 autonomous commercial vehicles. AutoX also plans to expand to the domestic market in Shenzhen.
The driverless solution company was founded in 2016 by Xiao Jianxiong, a former assistant professor of Princeton University, the alumnus of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has built the company to make driverless technology accessible worldwide.
AutoX completed its USD 34 million A round of funding in 2017 and its investors include MediaTek and SAIC Capital, an investment firm of the state-owned Chinese carmaker.
It announced the two top domestic carmakers, SAIC and Dongfeng, as its strategic shareholders, which is similar to the cooperation strategy between, Cruise Automation, an American driverless car company, GM and Honda. XIAO Jianxiong, founder and CEO of the company, said that they are talking with other domestic and foreign car manufacturers and want to make the driverless technology a common platform, just like the Windows system installed in the car.
In addition to the cooperation with SAIC and Dongfeng, reported by the company itself, on March 28 BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles announced a partnership with AutoX to design its fully electric sedan “Qin pro”. AutoX told 36Kr that the production-ready “Qin Pro” can use AutoX technology to complete an autonomous upgrade in just one day.
At the end of January 2019, Autox officially established its research and development headquarters in Nanshan district of Shenzhen city and designated an autonomous demonstration zone to build large scale autonomous demonstration vehicles fleet.
According to ZTnet, in late August 2018, Autox announced began delivering groceries via its Level 4 autonomous vehicles in San Jose. Unlike most self-driving companies, which use laser arrays and sophisticated sensors, AutoX uses comparatively cheap cameras and relies on its AI to navigate the world around it.
Officials of the company claim that AutoX is the only Chinese autonomous company to be certified by the US Department of Transportation and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration L4 driverless standards. The standard is the most stringent security requirement issued worldwide by an authoritative government department. This standard is the most strict security requirement issued by authoritative government agencies around the world.
AutoX has entered into a new round of financing up to hundreds of millions of dollars they, using it for talents recruitment in technology, operations, business, and government relations, and plans to expand the team to hundreds of people, AutoX officially announced.
The company is among quite a few autonomous driving start-ups that have come to existence in China after the country made smart vehicles one of its key development areas. It rivals with; Roadstar, Pony.ai, and Momenta.


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This year’s Monterey Motorsports Reunion will be filled with V8 thunder — or more specifically, Corvette thunder.
The 49th edition of the popular vintage racing event, scheduled for August 16-19 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, is set to celebrate Corvette’s 70th anniversary. It’ll do so with a wide range of historic Corvette racers on-site, many of which will be roaring around Laguna Seca throughout Monterey Car Week.
For this year’s event, artist Bill Patterson has created a unique Corvette poster, which will be available to purchase on-site at the event, and will be used on select merchandise available at the raceway store during the event.
“Corvette is a marque that is not only a great American icon, but it has built an international following as well,” said artist Bill Patterson, who has been associated with WeatherTech Raceway for more than 18 years.
“The challenge to tell the incredible story of Corvette in a single painting is daunting and, in fact, impossible. With this in mind, I can focus on creating an image satisfying to me, and, hopefully, to every participant and fan at this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. I’m grateful to be a motorsports artist, and am thrilled to have the passion of Corvette and its fans to inspire me!”


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While I wouldn’t classify this type of thing as “breaking news,” it is a fun little tidbit that wasn’t exactly broadcast by Google, and went completely unnoticed in the tear down we posted earlier today. Apparently, the Nexus 7 has the hidden ability to awake itself when a magnet is placed over the side of the device, then removed. A video was uploaded to YouTube today demonstrating the secret feature that will make the device even more easily accessible when paired with the official Nexus 7 “smart covers,” coming soon to Google Play. Have a look see.
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more_vertGoogle acquires Xively
The Google Cloud platform has announced their intent to acquire Xively, an Internet of Things service. Xively is a division of LogMeIn that focuses on the enterprise side of connected devices and services.
Noted leaker Evan Blass is reporting that LG’s next flagship smartphone code-named Judy will likely be revealed in June. Hardware specs also revealed.
The latest hit comes directly from leaders of the CIA, FBI, NSA, and others, which suggested that potential customers in the US should not use products or services from Huawei or ZTE over concerns of security and espionage.
more_vertAndroid Auto wifi projection
Google is finally showing WiFi p[rojection mode in the Android Auto app. All the elements are there to make it ready for compatible devices.
Google has started sending out emails to former Nexus owners, providing a 20% discount on either the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL. This offer lasts until the end of February, making it possible for you to see what Samsung has to offer in the Galaxy S9.
Essential has announced a new ‘Halo Gray’ color variant of the Essential Phone which will be exclusive to Amazon and will go on sale on February 21st. The device will be priced at $449 and includes Amazon Alexa voice services built-in.
Facebook is expected to release two smart speakers this July to compete with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Codenamed Fiona and Aloha, one of the smart speakers reportedly carries a 15-inch touchscreen.
Google is offering $80 in Project Fi credit when you buy the Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL from the Google Store.